Be not deceived. There was ground for this exhortation, and there is still. Then as now— I. VERY MANY WERE DECEIVED . II. APPEARANCES WERE DECEPTIVE . III. NONE COULD CLAIM EXEMPTION FROM THE POSSIBILITY OF BEING DECEIVED . IV. THERE WAS A TRAITOR WITHIN THE CAMP . Their hearts wished that to be true which they therefore thought to be true. V. TO BE DECEIVED IS TO BE PLUNGED IN THE UTTERMOST OF SORROW ... read more
Israel's delusion as to its enemy. I. THE DELUSION ENTERTAINED . That a great army is before Jerusalem is, of course, no delusion, and that it may effect a great deal of damage of a certain sort is no delusion. The delusion lies here, in supposing that the removal of the army would be the removal of the danger. And this delusion being strong in the minds of the people led them to seek the help of Egypt. A carnal foe was to be overcome by the help of a carnal friend. And similarly we... read more
Even if the Jews had defeated the whole Chaldean army, and there remained but a group of sorely wounded men, these in their weakness would be enabled to carry out God's sure purpose. But wounded men hardly brings out the force of the Hebrew; the word rendered "men" is emphatic, and expresses paucity of numbers, and that rendered "wounded" is, literally, pierced through. read more
The irresistible will of God. I. THE FACT . The Jews were ready to believe that Egypt was a match for Babylon, and to hope that through the conflict of these two powers they might regain their liberty. Even if they were justified in thinking so from a calculation of the material resources of these great empires, Jeremiah reminded them that there were other considerations to be taken into account before the result could be predicted. It was the will of God that Babylon should conquer... read more
God's purpose independent of means. The declaration of the certainty of the judgments upon Judah is absolute. They are not to be avoided by any human effort or apparent success. The soldiers of Chaldea, although they were to be wounded ("thrust through" equivalent to "dead"?), would still avail for the work they had to do, and would be raised again to do it. I. THE LESSON . A twofold one, viz.: 1 . The inevitableness of the Divine will, whether it be to destroy or to save. ... read more
For fear of, etc.; rather, because of. read more
The servant of God accused of treason. This attempt of Jeremiah's to go out of Jerusalem, whatever its special purpose may have been (as to this there is great diversity of view), was at once suspected of being treasonable, or, at any rate, it was made an occasion of accusing and punishing him. His asseverations were not listened to, but quickly and with much anger he was consigned to a loathsome prison, where he languished for many days. This teaches that— I. THOSE WHO ARE ... read more
Jeremiah imprisoned as a traitor. I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING TO THE IMPRISONMENT . Whatever interpretation we are to set on the ambiguous passage which gives the reason for Jeremiah's attempt to leave Jerusalem (verse 12)—whether it were to escape from the city, or to abandon a work that appeared to be fruitless for work in the country districts, or to take a possession at a redistribution of land in the sabbatical year, or to claim his share as a priest,—it is difficult to... read more
As soon as communication with the outside world was possible, Jeremiah took the opportunity of going to his native country, to obtain something or other which he could only obtain "thence." The Authorized Version says that his object was to separate himself thence. But read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 37:9
Self-deception. "Deceive not yourselves." I. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SELF - DECEPTION . As fallible beings, surrounded with mystery, and often beset by illusions we are likely to fall into unavoidable mistakes for which we cannot be held responsible. There are other errors which we might avoid if we took the right means for ascertaining the facts; but from indifference, or from indolence, or from unwillingness to see an unpleasant truth that is already half suspected, we... read more